The Greatest Gift
by OnceUponACaskett
Summary: "My prince," the servant said, "it's the Sultana. She's collapsed." Aladdin felt his heart stop. Before it could start beating again, he pushed past the servant and ran. Set after the 2019 movie


**A/N: Well it's been a hot minute since I've uploaded a fic to this website, huh? I mostly use my AO3 account nowadays so if you're looking for more fics from me, that'd be the best place to look. It's the same account name as this one, "OnceUponACaskett"**

"Abu!" Aladdin scolded his friend. "We've talked about this. We don't steal things anymore." He handed a bejeweled bracelet back to the monkey. "I don't know where you got this from, but you need to return it. Now."

Abu sounded his displeasure, but took the bracelet back and ran off.

Aladdin shook his head and sighed. Even after several months of living in the palace and being royalty, some habits were hard for both Abu _and_ him to shake off. Occasionally, he'd find himself instinctively thinking of ways that he could sneak into the kitchen and swipe some food, only to remember shortly after that all he had to do was tell a servant he was hungry.

Adjusting to palace life was much more difficult than he'd thought it would be. His whole life, he'd lived on the streets where he had to beg and steal for every last little thing. And now, he was married to the ruler of Agrabah; his own title changed from street rat to prince consort.

Thinking of Jasmine brought a smile to his face. She was the perfect Sultana, ruling over her people with a kind and caring yet unwavering hand. There were some that were none too pleased to see a woman on the throne, but Jasmine was able to navigate those stormy waters with grace and intellect.

Aladdin never got tired of watching her in her element. She would hold court every week and listen to the issues and struggles of her people. She had yet to come across a problem that she could not solve with a bit of compromise and fair judgment.

There was nothing he loved more than her. While there were times that he missed the anonymity and simplicity that being a commoner allotted him, he wouldn't trade his current life in for anything in the world.

Aladdin was shaken from his musings by the sound of loud, rapid footsteps approaching behind him. He turned to see a young servant come to a stop, lightly panting from the short run.

"My prince!"

Aladdin's eyebrows furrowed in concern and he reached a hand out to steady the boy. "Whoa, easy there. Is something wrong?"

"My prince," the servant began again, "it's the Sultana. She's collapsed. The palace healer is with her in your rooms now."

Aladdin felt his heart stop. Before it could start beating again, he pushed past the servant and ran.

When he reached his and Jasmine's quarters, he was abruptly stopped by the guards outside.

"My apologies, Your Highness, but we are under strict orders to let no one inside while the Sultana is being examined."

Aladdin was furious. "What orders—_whose_ orders?"

"The palace healer's."

"His orders aren't higher than mine," Aladdin all but shouted. "I'm the prince so let. Me. In."

To his credit, the guard speaking to him didn't back down. "In cases of medical emergencies, the palace healer's orders receive first priority. So I apologize once more, Your Highness, but I cannot let you through these doors."

Aladdin glared at him for a moment before he spun around and began pacing the hallway. It took several minutes before he was as close to calm as he could be right now. The rational part of his brain understood why the guards wouldn't let him through. All he'd be able to do is hover and get in the healer's way. Just because he understood the reasoning, though, still didn't mean he liked it.

That was his wife in there. _His wife!_

Leaning back against the wall, he slowly slid down to the floor, his head buried in his hands.

What if she had been poisoned? Or if she had some strange illness that had no cure? What if he was destined to lose her forever? What if she—

The doors opened.

Aladdin raised his head, a despondent look on his face. The healer emerged and Aladdin bolted to his feet. Before he could even ask, the healer was already speaking.

"The Sultana is going to be okay."

Aladdin felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"So what happened to her?" he asked.

The healer shook his head. "It is not my place to say, Your Highness. The Sultana wishes to tell you herself."

Aladdin practically ran the healer over as he rushed past him. He barely registered the sound of the guards shutting the doors behind him as his eyes locked on Jasmine. She was lying on their bed, propped up by a couple pillows. At the sight of her awake and conscious, he let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in. Cautiously, he walked over to her and knelt down beside the bed.

Jasmine smiled softly at him and reached a hand out to his cheek.

He suddenly felt a wave of emotions crash over him and he had to swallow down the lump forming in his throat. His eyes began to fill with tears and he slowly blinked them away.

"I was…_so_ scared," he said, one of his hands taking hold of the one Jasmine had cradling his face so he could press a kiss to her palm.

"The healer told you I was going to be fine, right?

"Of course," he assured her. "But before that…I had no idea. All I was told was that you had collapsed out of nowhere. And I just…I just couldn't help but think the worst."

"Come here." Jasmine patted the space next to her and Aladdin quickly moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. "He didn't tell you _why_ I collapsed, though, did he?"

Aladdin shook his head. "No. He said that you wanted to tell me that yourself."

Jasmine chuckled. "Good. I wanted you to find this out only from me."

Aladdin frowned in confusion. "Find…what out? You said you were okay."

"Yes, yes, I'm okay, Aladdin."

"Well then what is it?" What could she possibly be hiding from him? _Oh Allah_, he thought, _is she lying to me? Is she sick? Is she—_

"I'm pregnant."

And it was at that precise moment, that when Jasmine would tell this story years later, she would swear she had broken her husband. And Aladdin would never dispute it. He would whole-heartedly admit that he probably blacked out for at least a full minute.

It took Jasmine snapping her fingers in front of his face for him to come back to the present.

"Aladdin?"

He blinked and managed to pick up his jaw from where it had hit the ground.

"You're pregnant?" he asked.

She nodded, biting her lip in anticipation of his reaction. They hadn't yet talked about children, but it was almost a given assumption that eventually they would have them. After all, she was Sultana and she would need to have an heir at some point in the not so distant future.

Aladdin glanced down at her stomach, flat as it always had been, but would soon grow round and full with his child.

_My child_, he thought as he gently placed a hand there.

"I'm gonna be a father," he whispered. He looked into Jasmine's eyes and scolded himself for causing the anxiety he saw in them.

"I know we haven't talked about it yet," Jasmine said, "and I was just as shocked as you. Believe me, I had no idea that I was pregnant and—"

Aladdin leaned in and kissed her to stop her. He couldn't even say that Jasmine being pregnant was the last thing to cross his mind while he'd waited for the healer because honestly? It never even registered as a possibility to him. But now that he'd gotten over his initial shock, he was more than happy at the news. Sure, he was a bit scared at the idea of being a father, but with Jasmine by his side, he felt like he could do anything. There'd be times when they would screw up, but as long as they were in it together, they'd be able to figure it out.

Aladdin pulled back, his lips tingling as if it were still the first time they kissed. "You just keep finding ways to surprise me, huh?"

Jasmine smirked. "Well someone has to keep you on your toes."

Aladdin shook his head at her teasing and stared at her stomach in disbelief. "But wow. A baby?"

"A baby," she confirmed.

"You know, I thought we'd have at least a whole year to ourselves before we even started _thinking_ of kids."

"Well if you're looking for someone to blame, just take a look in the mirror."

"Oh so this is my fault?" he said, amusement tinging his voice.

"Of course," Jasmine said, failing to hide her smile. "I can't exactly do this to myself, now can I?"

Aladdin laughed and climbed into bed next to her, pulling her into his arms. They settled back against the silken sheets with Jasmine's head resting on his chest. "I guess I'll be sleeping on the balcony tonight with Rajah then."

"Don't be silly," she scoffed. How could he even think such a thing? "I'd never let Rajah sleep on the balcony."

**I'm contemplating writing a follow up to this, but I'm still not 100% sure of it. Let me know if you guys have any ideas or things you'd like to see. Maybe some inspiration will strike!**


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